Prince Charles joked about student protests before Royal couple attacked

The Prince of Wales joked about the risk that protesters in central London
could pose to him and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, just minutes before
the Royal couple's car came under determined attack.

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Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall react as their car is attacked during the December 2010 protestPhoto: AP/MATT DUNHAM

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Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall react as their car is attackedPhoto: AP Photo/Matt Dunham

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The Rolls Royce had its window smashed and it was covered in paintPhoto: MARK STEWART

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The Royal car which was transporting Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall is driven away after it was attacked Photo: EPA

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Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall are greeted after the attack on their carPhoto: GETTY

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Protesters attempt to break into the TreasuryPhoto: EDDIE MULHOLLAND

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Riot police come under attack from flares as they clash with protesters Photo: AFP

The Prince was attending a reception in Clarence House immediately before the journey to the Royal Variety Performance at the Palladium when he referred to the tens of thousands of students causing havoc.

He said: “Hopefully we’ll be able to brave our way through, get there and be all right.”

The Rolls-Royce Phantom VI was stopped by crowds of protesters on Regent Street and hit with a hail of missiles, including bottles and dustbins, as well as a tin of white paint, and a window was badly cracked before the Royal couple could escape.

Police are facing calls for a major inquiry into why they allowed a car carrying the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to be cut off in the middle of a riot over tuition fees and attacked.

Demonstrators chanted "off with their heads" and kicked the Rolls-Royce as it travelled to theatre.

The Prince and Duchess were “unharmed” and continued with their engagement at the London Palladium.

The Duchess later joked about the incident, saying: "First time for everything."

After the performance, the couple were taken from the theatre in a marked police van.

Matthew Maclachlan, who witnessed the attack on the Prince’s car, said: “The police cars at the front of the convoy drove straight into crowds at the top of Regent Street. They got trapped in that mob and it meant that Charles and Camilla were on their own further down the road except for a Jaguar travelling behind them.

“Charles and Camilla’s car ran into such a concentration of people that it had to stop. It was stationary for a lot of the time, then would squeeze forward an inch. They had just one bodyguard in the car with them and a chauffeur.

“We couldn’t believe it. The car had really big windows so Charles was very much on display. People were trying to talk to him about tuition fees at first but when more people realised what was happening, the crowds swelled and people were throwing glass bottles and picking up litter bins and throwing them at the car. You could hear all this smashing.

“There was one protection officer in the Jaguar behind, dressed in a tuxedo, and he was opening the car doors and using them to bash people away. His car took a real pummelling.

“It must have been frightening for them but, throughout it all, Charles was really calm and smiling at everyone. Camilla was beaming too. He was holding his hands out towards them in a gesture that said, 'I’m innocent’.”

Mr Maclachlan, who was not involved in the protest, said he was astonished that the police had taken that route.

“I don’t know why they went that way. It was the same crowd that had been in Trafalgar Square earlier, setting fire to the Christmas tree. There were so many protesters and they drove right into the middle of them.”

Although the rear window on the Prince’s side of the car was shattered, it did not break. The burgundy Rolls-Royce Phantom VI, used by the Queen on several previous occasions, is fitted with toughened glass as a security measure.

The incident raises serious questions about the policing of the protests, which came as MPs voted in favour of the policy of increasing the fees cap to £9,000.